“I have no regrets in my life and I’m proud of every decision I’ve ever made,” the killer said.

Convicted Craigslist Killer Peter Avsenew stood before a Broward jury Thursday morning and offered no excuses, no explanations and no signs of remorse.

“I have no regrets in my life and I’m proud of every decision I’ve ever made,” he said.

Avsenew, 32, was convicted of murder in the 2010 deaths of Kevin Mark Powell, 47, and Stephen Adams, 52, in Wilton Manners, a heavily populated gay city near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Prosecutors said Avsenew used Craigslist to get invited to the victims’ home and then killed and robbed them, leaving with their money, a car, and other belongings.

Avsenew’s attorneys argued that he went to the couple’s house and found them already dead, and that he didn’t call 911 because he was working for the couple as an escort.

The jury deliberated less than three hours and recommended that Avsenew, 33, be put to death for the murders of Powell of Adams.

Minutes after the sentencing, Avsenew gave the middle finger to the victims’ families.

Avsenew is the first defendant in Broward to receive a death recommendation from a jury since the state’s death penalty law was rewritten last year. Juries now have to make unanimous decisions to execute convicted killers.

Share this:

Will Kohler is a noted LGBT historian, journalist and owner of Back2Stonewall.com. A longtime gay activist, Will fought on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic with ACT-UP and continues fighting today for LGBT acceptance and full equality. Will’s work has been referenced in notable media venues as MSNBC and BBC News, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Hollywood Reporter, and Raw Story,